Unanimous Consent Requests--Executive Calendar
Floor Speech
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Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, we are back here again on the floor of the U.S. Senate. It is early in the morning. Why are we down here?
We are down here to keep faith with those officers in the military, members of their families, and those who will follow them--that when members of our military spend their entire professional lives building up experiences--leadership experiences, experiences in battle-- obtaining multiple degrees, making countless sacrifices back home, that their careers won't be interrupted by politics that they have got nothing at all to do with.
Let me go through five areas: first, areas of agreement with my good friend--and he is my good friend, Senator Tuberville. I sit right next to him, and I have a lot of respect for Senator Tuberville. He and I share agreement on pro-life principles. We are both, in every respect--our policies, our convictions, our public statements, our past history-- strongly pro-life. I don't think anyone questions that.
We also believe that the President's actions as it relates to these policies--the ones that he and I find objectionable--to transport our servicemembers out of State to obtain abortions using taxpayer money is patently illegal. We think it should be challenged.
Second point: We do have disagreements on this, but they are tactical disagreements, not grounded in principle--tactical disagreements that we are trying to find alternatives to. The reason I don't think this current approach is even constructive is because, as many of my colleagues have already stated, it punishes those brave servicemembers who didn't develop the policy and can't change it, and that, therefore, breeds a lot of frustration and even cynicism about our elected officials.
Fourth, this is a dangerous time, something I underscored last time I was down here to talk about this. It is a time of war. The United States blessedly is not involved in that war actively. We don't have boots on the ground, but we have been actively resourcing our friends and partners. It is a dangerous and precarious time for our friends. God forbid, some sort of escalation occurs. We don't want to get pulled into that. We have a porous southern border. We need our best team on the field.
And the last point I really want to emphasize tonight is that this is personal to me. This is personal to this U.S. Senator. I proudly represent the people of Indiana in this institution, but I have a history serving in other areas, serving with other individuals.
I proudly graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1995, and, this evening, I will be calling to the floor from the Executive Calendar the names of seven individuals who have been nominated for the rank of rear admiral (lower half).
They were classmates of mine. Our class is really proud of these individuals. I think there is broad acknowledgment that they have earned this opportunity to lead at the highest level in the best military that ever was, and I want to do my part to give them that opportunity. I am asking Senator Tuberville to do his part.
``Non sibi sed patriae.'' It is the motto of the class of 1995. ``Not self, but country.'' ``Non sibi sed patriae.''
So I am asking an exception to be made for my classmates here, these seven individuals and seven patriots of whom I am quite proud.
So, Mr. President, with that in mind, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 104, CAPT Kurtis A. Mole, to the grade of Rear Admiral (lower half).
Captain Mole enlisted in the Navy in 1988, becoming a cryptologic technician and attending the prestigious Defense Language Institute, or DLI, in Monterey. Captain Mole went on to attend the Naval Academy, earning a commission in 1995 as a surface warfare officer.
After his redesignation as a cryptologic warfare officer in 2000, he went on to serve in many positions, including the senior cryptologist for the USS Kittyhawk Strike Group, the information officer for the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the information warfare commander for USS Ronald Reagan Strike Group, and the commanding officer of NSA/ CSS Hawaii.
Captain Mole has been deployed multiple times to the Arabian Gulf and the Western Pacific--an amazing career.
And we can confirm this nomination by voice vote right now.
Mole to be Rear Admiral (lower half) in the U.S. Navy, under Calendar No. 104; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
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Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I do hope the President of the United States and Secretary Austin heed the entreaties of my esteemed colleague representing the State of Utah.
With that, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 105, CAPT Thomas J. Dickinson to the grade of Rear Admiral.
Captain Dickinson was also a classmate of mine at the U.S. Naval Academy. He was commissioned in 1995 and became a surface warfare officer.
He has held numerous positions, most with a high level of expertise. These include his time as a weapons officer and combat systems officer aboard the USS The Sullivans and commanding officer aboard the USS Barry. Most notably, during his command tour of the USS Barry, he completed a 9-month ballistic missile defense deployment in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and earned the Battle Effectiveness Award, being recognized for its crew's high levels of sustained proficiency and readiness.
Captain Dickinson is currently serving as the commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in an acting capacity until his promotion is processed.
We can confirm this nomination by voice vote tonight, right now. Dickinson to be Rear Admiral (lower half) in the U.S. Navy under Calendar No. 105; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
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Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, there are now tens--tens--of Americans watching us on C-SPAN2, captivated, I know, by the presentation this evening. I think they are perhaps divided. Some may look upon these proceedings and think: What a functional U.S. Senate. Every voice must be heard. Every perspective must be delivered. Every phrase must be uttered.
Others will say, perhaps, it is dysfunction, perhaps there is an effort to obfuscate.
I don't know what they will conclude, but I do know that I intend to continue reading through these brave patriots' class of 1995 U.S. Naval Academy graduates who have been nominated to the grade of Rear Admiral (lower half). And we are very proud of it. And I hope they can be confirmed later this evening.
So I will be proceeding and reading each of their biographies, fused together, indeed, in a strength, without any intervening parliamentary request which might be seized upon for C-SPAN viewership.
Navy CAPT Neil Koprowski to the grade of Rear Admiral. Captain Koprowski has served in the U.S. Navy since receiving his commission in 1995. Did I say it? 1995. He has held numerous operational assignments, including commanding officer post of the USS San Antonio and the USS Kearsarge. Captain Koprowski currently serves as the commander for U.S. Naval Forces Korea and U.S. Navy Region Korea, a posting that handles the highly competitive regional challenges we face today.
Captain Koprowski has also received many awards in his career, including the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
CAPT Lincoln M. Reifsteck to the grade of Rear Admiral. Captain Reifsteck has served his country since graduating from the Naval Academy in 1995.
Did I mention he and I were classmates?
He has held numerous assignments, including as the commanding officer of the USS Hampton, the division chief of the Nuclear Operations Division for the Joint Staff, and commodore of Submarine Development Squadron 5.
Captain Reifsteck currently serves as the branch head of the Undersea Warfare Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
CAPT Frank A. Rhodes IV has also been nominated to the grade of Rear Admiral. CAPT Frank Rhodes has been serving in the Navy since 1995. He graduated from the Naval Academy. We were classmates. He served in numerous positions, including commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 81 and the air wing commander of Carrier Air Wing 3.
Captain Rhodes has been serving in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for over 4 years, where he has been the Carrier Strike Aircraft and Weapons branch head and the executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations.
Then we have CAPT Forrest O. Young, also nominated to the grade of Rear Admiral. Captain Young served in the Navy for almost 30 years. He graduated from the Naval Academy. We were, of course, classmates. And he thereafter became an accomplished fighter pilot. He held operational commands around the world, including time as commander of Strike Fighter Squadron 105, commander of Carrier Air Wing 5, and time as an instructor as a Navy Top Gun.
Captain Young most recently served as director of Aviation Officer Career Management and Distribution Division, Navy Personnel Command.
CAPT Craig T. Mattingly, also nominated to grade of Rear Admiral. Over Captain Mattingly's 28-year career, he has led squadrons on deployments supporting EUCOM, AFRICOM, and CENTCOM, areas of responsibility as commander of multiple task groups.
His major command tour was commander of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11. During his tenure as commodore, CPRW-11 supported global initiatives to include the inaugural INDOPACOM deployments of the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aerial System and P-8A Poseidon Advanced Airborne Sensor, as well as the P-3C Littoral Surveillance Radar System.
Mattingly's most recent assignment was serving as senior military adviser of the Secretary of the Navy. He has accumulated more than 3,900 flight hours in the P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon aircraft and served on teams that have received various awards and recognition.
He, too, was a classmate of mine, class of 1995.
And I am most hopeful each of these individuals can, ultimately, be confirmed, as my good friend and respected colleague, with whom I share deep pro-life convictions, Senator Tuberville contemplates a more constructive policy.
We have visited in that regard. He is working hard toward that end. I know he wants to accomplish that.
Having offered that thought, I am going to yield to Senator Ernst of Iowa.
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